


Of Memories and Birthday Cakes

by shewhispersyourname



Series: Ereri One-Shots [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-18 00:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19965976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewhispersyourname/pseuds/shewhispersyourname
Summary: It's Carla's birthday. Eren deals with it.





	Of Memories and Birthday Cakes

**Author's Note:**

> So... Yeah. All aboard the shipwreck. Un-betaed. All grammar and spelling mistakes are mine and mine only.

Life never goes in a way one might expect. Eren knew that better than most. There were days when he would sit down and think about his mother and her beautiful, kind smile. It was a memory that brought sadness and grief, yet he held onto it. On other days he would think about the people he trained with to join the army. People like Marco, who deserved more, who deserved a better life and yet ended up as nothing more than a casualty of this cruel, cruel world. Eren held onto these thoughts the same way he held onto the memories of his mother. They were fuel for his anger, they helped him work harder to achieve his goal. Namely his goal of ridding the world of titans, breaking the walls down and allowing humanity to spread its wings, to fly to freedom.

And then there were days like the one he was having today. Days he remembered that he was still a fifteen years old boy and he was terrified. The reason behind his fear wasn't the Military police, nor another experiment Squad leader Zoe came up with. He could deal with the above any day, any time. No, the reason for his fear was portrayed in the face of one Corporal Levi. Also known as humanity's strongest. The man's face showed no emotions, but Eren had grown well accustomed to reading his superior's mood even when Levi's face remained blank.

"Care to repeat what you said, shitty brat?" Levi asked, his voice monotone. He might have read the first line of the report he was holding, that's how empty of emotions his voice was.

"I was wondering if I can be excused of duty for the rest of the day, sir." Eren tried not to twitch, his posture going slightly rigid and the boy felt himself adjusting his weight from one leg to another.

He tried his best not to cower away when Levi's gaze held his breath away. He wasn't sure if he could handle it. Part of him was terrified that the Corporal would ask for a reason, and then he would have to force himself to talk about his mother and the fact that it was her birthday today.

"Don't make a mess. Don't get in trouble." His superior said after a moment. Eren let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

"Yes, sir." He saluted, part of him thankful about the way the other male seemed to understand him.

"Dismissed." With that Levi returned to reading the report he was holding, and Eren gave one more salute before excusing himself from the older man's office.

He walked towards the kitchen, not sure what to do with his day off. Truth be told, he didn't expect to have his request granted. After sitting down on one of the vacant chairs, the boy allowed memories of happier days and birthday celebrations to fill his mind.

That's when it hit him. He was going to bake a cake. Or at least try to do so, because baking was not one of his many strengths. A few hours later as well as a couple of errors, Eren found himself looking and something that could possibly pass for a cake. He smiled and left it on the table, then cleaned the kitchen, knowing how particular Levi was about their castle's state.

It felt like the right way to celebrate his mother. She would have made a cake for him, Mikasa and Armin. Maybe his dad would have been back home, and all of them could have had a little celebration. Eren knew that the rest of the squad will have dinner, find the cake and probably share it between themselves.

Today wasn't a good day, but Eren knew that he would be fine. With one last look at the cake, he slowly made his way down to the dungeon where his room was. He cleaned himself up and changed into his sleeping clothes, then snuggled under the blankets.

The boy lost track of time as he stared at the wall, opposite his bed, thinking about everything and anything. He was almost asleep when he heard the door of his cell opening quietly. One look in its direction had him scrambling to sand up.

"Calm down. You will fall on your face." Levi told him quietly as he placed the plate he was holding on the small table in the corner, along with a candle to illuminate the room. "I saved you a piece."

It was such a weird sentence, and it wasn't like Levi to talk like this. Eren found it weird, but good weird. The part of him that was willing to do everything for the Corporal's approval was rejoicing.

"It's my mother's birthday." Eren heard himself saying. He looked away and then looked back at the other man.

"I know. I asked Ackerman." Levi answered calmly, then sat on the only chair in the small room.

Eren wasn't sure what to do, or what was expected of him to do. He focused on the plate with the cake, and carefully broke a piece with his fingers, then popped it in his mouth.

Levi snorted, his face looking disgusted. "You have no manners or whatsoever." He told the boy, and before Eren could reply, Levi stood up and took Eren's dirty hand in his. The man stared at the younger male for a moment, before bringing Eren's hand to his mouth and licking his fingers clean, then letting go and making his way towards the door.

Eren stood there, breath stuck in his lungs and eyes open wide as he watched his corporal.

"See you tomorrow, brat," Levi said before leaving Eren's bedroom, and the boy found himself blushing furiously.

It took him some time to calm his heart down. When Eren was positive that he won't die of a heart attack, he quickly finished the cake, wiped his fingers and jumped back in bed.

Life was still horrible, and today was still a bad day. But Eren couldn't bring himself to put the day in any of the previous three categories. Instead, he found himself carefully placing the memory in a different folder. A folder he liked to call 'Reasons to be in love with Corporal Levi'.


End file.
